


From The Other Side

by Dheerse



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Gen, old man sessh strikes back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-03-20 10:58:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13716246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dheerse/pseuds/Dheerse
Summary: It all started when Kagome found out that she wasn't the only one still lingering on things long passed.She had always tried to forget who she left behind.Kagome meets Sesshomaru 500 years into the future. Set during the 3 year time skip.





	1. He was a stranger knocking on your door.

It was the third night in a week of very quiet evenings.

Kagome’s mother and brother had left to visit her aunt for a few days; she had volunteered to stay behind to take care of their grandfather - who’d been bedridden with a flu for the past week.

 

With her grandpa already fast asleep, as he had been for most of the day, Kagome was left alone with the TV and her thoughts.

She barely paid attention to the made-for-TV movie, the actor’s raspy voice mixing with the harsh rain hitting the living room windows to create no more than white noise as Kagome was fiddling with the remote.

 

_It’s been almost two years now._

Life felt incredibly boring since she couldn't travel back to the past anymore. It was a horrible thought but sometimes she wondered if it was really her friends that she missed or the adrenaline of traveling through a youkai ridden Japan.

She had friends here, her family was here, yet she didn’t feel happy.

 

_Who would've known what hardly a year of excitement could do to a teenage girls outlook on life?_

 

Kagome tried to think little of the people she left behind.

 

A loud noise suddenly awakened Kagome from her contemplations. _A knock?_

Briefly, contemplating the possibility that it was merely something in the film, she nestled back into her pillows only to be jolted again when another set of knocks rang from the front door.

 

“I'm coming!”, she yelled, half jogging over to the door.

She opened it only a crack wide, acutely aware of her childish pyjamas.

The figure before her was shrouded in darkness, standing just outside the area their porch light was illuminating.

Kagome could, however, make out that the person seemed almost freakishly tall, almost 2 heads taller than she was, and wearing some sort of long coat.

Kagome cleared her throat to fill the awkward silence.

 

“Can I… help you?”, she finally croaked, unsure.

 

Apparently realizing that their weren't visible where they were standing, they took a step forward; finally giving Kagome the chance to make something of this stranger.

 

The _stranger_ had long, flowing, white hair. Extremely long - almost as long as they were tall.

That was only one of the many boxes Kagome had begun checking upon spotting the man in front of her. To her immediate surprise, _he_ seemed perfectly dry - despite the rain storm, still raging behind him.

 

She looked back up at his face a multitude of times. He seemed awfully familiar - in the way you’d familiarise yourself with one of those “spot the difference” games, except you’d seen the original image almost two years ago.

The first difference she spotted was the rather scruffy beard that appeared to be eating the lower half of the poor guy's face. It wouldn't have felt so unfitting had she not immediately tried to see him without it. The way it was now, the mass off hair seemed almost tacked on like an afterthought.

 

When she finally managed to tear her eyes away from the beard, she immediately spotted the second difference. Pale, milky eyes seemed to be staring right through her to her soul, yet, completely unseeing.

 

Kagome scanned him one more time - she had correctly made out the coat, though she'd probably brand it as more of a _cloak,_ due to its almost shapeless nature, hanging loosely off the _youkai’s_ shoulders; she also took note of the cane he was leaning on rather heavily. It had an odd, intricate design that, much like the man himself, didn’t seem that unfamiliar anymore.

 

Once more finding his face, and her voice, she opened the door completely, crossing her arms,

“Can I help you… _Sesshomaru_?”

 

She sounded quite less sure of herself than she had intended, prompting a low rumble to emerge from the man before her. Had she not known any better, she might’ve thought he was laughing at her.

 

“I believe you can.”


	2. He was a stranger in your home.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversation over tea

Kagome let the silence between them linger for another moment, expecting Sesshomaru to elaborate. Realizing that he had no intention of doing so, she uncrossed her arms,

“Do you want to come in?” 

 

She prepared herself to guide him through the obstacle course that was a modern home but Sesshomaru simply nodded and brushed past her. His fingertips brushed her walls now and again but he seemed to have no issue navigating his environment using his other senses. 

 

Kagome shut the door behind him so that their heat bill doesn't rise any higher. Left with no one but herself a startling realization of what she'd just done hit her. 

She let _ Sesshomaru _ of all people into her home. 

Taking careful steps she tried to gauge what he was doing, but he was merely standing around. She thought she saw his pointed ear twitch when she entered the room, though she might have imagined it.

 

“Um, do you-”, she walked over to their table, “Why don’t you sit down?” 

 

He seemed to hesitate for a second before sighing and walking over to Kagome, before leaning down and sitting after some feeling around.

 

“Would you like some tea?” 

 

Almost annoyed with her now he grunted his approval, settling in more comfortably. Kagome wondered how long he had intended for this visit to go.

 

Leaving him to his own devices once more, the former miko entered the kitchen, grabbing a pot on her way to the stove and beginning the process of boiling water for her guest. 

Kagome’s hand found her chest; her heart felt as though it was trying to escape through her throat. 

She remembered Sango telling her about the lifespan of youkai. Immortal.

She also remembered thinking that there's no demons in her time, so they couldn't be  _ that _ immortal. Sesshomaru had a knack for showing up at strange times. 

 

If this really was Sesshomaru he was old; really old. But that might not be so bad.

The Sesshomaru she knew had become a lot kinder, saving her life and all that - 500 years was a lot of time to build character. 

Deep down she knew why she wanted to believe it was really him. The thought of having someone here that was  _ there _ too felt oddly comforting.

 

The whistling of the kettle broke her from her train of thought. As Kagome poured the water, she tried to remember if Sesshomaru had been particularly patient in the past. 

Careful not to spill either of their cups, she scuffled over to where the older man was sitting. 

“So…”, 

she said as she placed the drink before her guest.

 

“How are you?” 

The question seemed strangely mundane for someone like him. 

Kagome contemplated for a moment. 

 

“I’m alright? How about you?”, she scanned his face waiting for an answer. 

 

In the dim light of her living room another difference became apparent. The odd markings she had known him with were gone. She wondered if he covered them with makeup or magic. 

Instead of answering her, he just took a sip from his cup with little consideration for the intense heat of the liquid. 

 

The girl pressed on, this felt like one of those  _ once in a lifetime _ opportunities; she would get answers, if it's the last thing she does.

 

“What's wrong with your face?”,

she finally stuttered out. 

 

“Quite the charmer.”

 

Not the tone she had intended, but her rude question seemed to loosen him up a little. 

Kagome couldn't help but feel the slightest bit awkward at their interactions. His voice was deeper and a  _ lot _ softer than she remembered. 

 

“Why are you here?”

 

He clicked his tongue in response. 

 

“No reason.” 

 

She knew better than to believe he was here for a friendly visit. She fiddled with her cup a little. Half of her had hoped he was here to drag her off to some magical adventure. The other half of her was laughing at the thought.

 

“What have you been up to since Naraku, you know.” 

 

“Perished.”

 

“Yeah…”

 

Kagome watched the youkai's brows furrow in thought, reminding herself that it had been a lot more than just two years for him. 

 

“What about everyone else? Do you remember?” He turned his head at her outburst and she clutched her cup.

“What about Inuyasha?” 

 

Sesshomaru reached into his coat, not rummaging for long before he took out an old, yellowed envelope and pushed it over the table to the gawking Kagome. 

 

“Wha-?” 

She carefully opened the letter and studied the page inside. In big, simple symbols it read,

 

_ Miss you. _


	3. He was a friend you never knew.

She had a suspicion who could've been behind this. Going by Sesshomaru’s lingering silence, he likely assumed she could figure it out herself, too. 

A sinking feeling filled Kagome's chest, at the realization. She could hear blood rushing through her ears, drowning out all other noise. The thought of Inuyasha waiting for her to come back while she tried her best to forget what her life had been for that one fateful year. 

Questions flooded her head; 

_ Will he move on eventually? Why does he care? How long did he wait?  _

 

Soon one question rang louder than the rest,

“Why…”, she took a deep breath, 

“Why did you keep this so long?” 

 

He took another sip of tea before setting down his empty cup. Kagome briefly wondered if he had just been pretending to still be drinking or if he had really taken this long while she had been so deep in thought. Quickly shaking such silly contemplations from her mind, she instead chose to focus on the youkai’s response,

 

“He asked me too.” 

 

It seemed like such an obvious answer yet it surprised Kagome nonetheless. The Sesshomaru  _ she  _ knew would never do a favour for his brother. Especially one that would centuries to fulfill and a hassle to keep. 

She was once again roused from her thoughts when Sesshomaru suddenly stood. Her eyebrows shot up at his swift departure. 

 

“Wait!” 

She stood to go after him, already half-way through the corridor leading to their front door.

 

“Hm?” 

 

“You… you want to leave already?”, she stuttered.

 

Phrased like that the answer seemed blatantly obvious. He did what he came to do; why would he want to stick around. 

He still had his back turned. 

He defined wouldn't stay for the company, that was for sure.

 

“You live around?” 

 

“No.”

 

_ So, he came a long way? _ It seemed odd to want to depart after such a short visit if you had travelled far. 

Noticing that he was making a move for the door again she quickly wrapped herself around the arm that was closest to her. She felt him tense up immediately, muscles still very much intact despite the years he had packed on. 

It was a risque move but she didn’t want lose the opportunity of for building a real human connection. Or inhuman, in this case. 

 

He freed himself from her grip with one swift pull, turning to face her more properly.

Even Sesshomaru would be held accountable for murder in these modern times,  _ right? _

 

Realizing that she had his undivided attention, Kagome finally regained her voice,

“Can I see you again some time?”, she voiced, carefully.

 

Sesshomaru gave no indication that he understood. 

Instead he just rested his left hand on her head for a moment. It felt odd, like your antisocial uncle or estranged brother ruffling your hair after being absent for about 500 years.

 

After staying like this for a moment he turned without another word, halting right before he had closed the door behind him.

 

“Come to Sendai. I'll know if when you're there.” 

 

And that was the last she saw of him. For the day at least. Kagome remained in the hallway for another while. Reality seemed to slowly set in and she wondered if what just happened had really happened. 

Everything seemed just a little  _ off _ , in the way dreams often tended to. Surreal but not too distanced from reality to be forgotten in the morning.

 

Finally tearing her eyes from the door she went to turn the TV off, as the end credits of whatever flick she had been watching rolled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my partner said that sessh sounds like hell to talk to and i couldnt agree more


	4. Maybe you could get used to this.

Days passed and Kagome slowly adjusted to the idea that  _ maybe _ , just  _ maybe _ she hadn’t made up the whole thing. 

When her mother and Sota came back she thought about telling them. Her brother always liked Inuyasha so he’d likely love the idea of a full on youkai in their house.  _ And one that could turn into a huge dog at that. _

He probably had nowhere to do so anyways; Japan had its fair share of giant monsters but she doubted they’d welcome another. 

 

One week after the visit she sat down with her mother to tell her. Sota had already gone to bed so this might be her only opportunity to tell her without her brother excitedly wanting to tag along, should she decide to go visit the youkai. 

She told her about the tall man at the door and how she recognized him, how she’d recognize him anywhere. 

Her mother was understanding as always, if a little stunted. In the past Kagome had told her about Inuyasha’s brother, who was incredibly dangerous, mean and rude.  _ He’s gotten better! _ She had told her, back when he first picked up Rin. It seemed strange now, to think that she wasn't with him anymore.

She wondered if he was sad about that; he seemed very attached to her.

 

The next morning Kagome headed out to the train station. With no way of contacting him, she decided to blindly trust his promise,  _ I’ll know when you're there.  _

While ominous, Kagome had no reason to believe he was anything but right. Sesshomaru always seemed to get where he needed to be fashionably late. 

_ Besides _ , she thought, climbing into the cramped train,  _ Sesshomaru wouldn't go this far just to catfish her. Hopefully. _

 

Sendai was at least 4 hours away from Tokyo so Kagome settled in for an uncomfortable ride.

 

She stared out the window she was pressed against, hypnotized by clouds moving along with her; changing colours as the sun rose above them. 

 

**_“SENDAI STATION”_ **

 

The robotic announcement broke the miko from her stupor just in time to ready herself for exit.

Stepping out and to the side, Kagome waited patiently for the influx of people leaving and entering the train behind her to die down.

Carefully balancing on her toes, she attempted to look over the sea of people. She wondered if Sesshomaru was already there. Considering his track record, he either was or would be shortly. The youkai wasn't necessarily one to lie - if Kagome’s memory served correctly. 

 

A few minutes later, the crowd size had decreased drastically and Kagome was able to spot a head of long white hair.

Suddenly, his head snapped up, turning to her direction.

 

Kagome thought she saw him say something, though the still sizable crowd made far too much noise for her to hear his soft voice. Just as she decided to finally walk over to him, he started advancing towards her. He maneuvered the mass of people quite well all things considered, but as soon as he emerged in front of her it was revealed why that might be.

 

The hand that wasn't holding his cane had a young child wrapping their hand tightly around two fingers, dragging the older man along. Kagome felt her heart throb at the display. The child couldn't have been older than six. 

 

Sesshomaru simply bowed his head at her in greeting causing the child to jump up excitedly. 

“Are you Oji-san’s friend?”

 

Kagome paused, brows furrowed, mouth slightly agape.  _ Uncle?  _ She didn't like the implications of that.

 

“I-I guess so…” 

 

Her eyes raised up to meet Sesshomaru's face as she heard him chuckle at her flabbergasted response. 

 

“Akito, you don’t have to say that.” 

 

“Ah, you know Sesshomaru-sama?!”

 

Kagome was about to respond when Sesshomaru tugged at his hand, telling the both of them that they should head out of such a crowded area. 

 

Kagome struggled to keep up with Sesshomaru’s long strides. He was fast even walking with a cane; Akito let himself be dragged now, a continuous stream of nonsense leaving his mouth. Kagome nodded now and then while Sesshomaru ignored him, choosing to focus on leaving the station as soon as possible.

 

He probably wouldn't like crowds, Kagome figured. 

They were out of the station in no time, taking a surprisingly deserted route that led them through an alleyway and into the outskirts of the inner city.

 

Sesshomaru finally came to a halt and both Kagome and Akito heaved a breath of exhaustion at the near running pace they had to keep up with. The older man waited patiently for them to be ready to continue.

 

“So, where are we going?”, Kagome asked in-between short breaths.

 

“We were about to get food when Sesshomaru-sama said he needed to pick someone up!” 

 

Akito was the one to reply, already up and about again. Maybe Kagome's body wasn't as young as it used to be.

 

Sesshomaru didn't turn to address them; he simply held his hand out again, which the child took without a second thought, 

 

“Let’s go.”

 

He was walking much more leisurely now.

Akito and Kagome were chatting on their way to the store. The child asked her how she knew Sesshomaru; she told him they were old friends. Akito told her he was glad that Sesshomaru had friends, and so on.

 

After just a few more minutes they reached their destination. Sesshomaru grabbed one of the shopping carts and they went inside. 

If Kagome had any expectations as to what grocery shopping would be like with Sesshomaru, this would probably fulfill all of them. She had to grin at the mental image of the Sesshomaru she knew pushing around a shopping cart, but  this version of him seemed to be acquainted with the situation.

He bumped the cart into the sides of the different shelves now and again but other than that he seemed to navigate the premise expertly. 

 

She watched him rub at his nose a few times and figured that the different scents must be quite irritating. 

They only got an aisle into the store before Akito tried to wander off, prompting Sesshomaru to swiftly pick him up and place him in the cart.

Akito giggled, apparently already used to this. 

“I’m not the food!” 

 

Kagome stayed a few paces behind the two at all times, watching their interaction. Her first meeting with the aged Youkai had felt surreal but the setting definitely fit Sesshomaru. Seeing him out and about like this carried a new, different feeling; it was one Kagome could find herself growing acquainted with. 

 

“You’re slow.”, Sesshomaru commented absentmindedly. 

 

He hadn't actually turned to address her, but he stopped walking to fish a note out of his coat, handing it over to Akito who stared at the words wide eyed. 

 

Kagome getting the message walked up to the two, now standing beside Sesshomaru. 

His height seemed imposing so close up, even when he was leaning with his arms propped up on the cart.

 

“Noodles!” Akito declared suddenly, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the list in his hands.

 

Sesshomaru in turn spurred into motion. Soon enough the child was surrounded by dozens of packs of cheap spaghetti.

 

“How- how often do you do this?” 

“Every day.”

 

Kagome was more than a bit shocked. As it was right now it almost looked like he was stocking up a spaghetti based bunker. 

_ Maybe he just eats a lot?  _ She had never thought about his eating habits before. 

_ Maybe Akito eats a lot.  _ She considered looking over the excited child bouncing up and down as he attempted to read the second item on their grocery list; apparently without much success.

 

“What are we eating these with?” 

 

Sesshomaru offered. Akito stroke his chin in contemplation, his face slowly breaking out into a grin, 

 

“Chocolate?”, He offered, causing Sesshomaru to raise his eyebrows at him.

 

Kagome giggled at the child's attempt at a joke, catching his interest. Akito comically slapped his forehead as if just now realizing his error.

“Tomato!” 

 

The older man pushed the cart along, satisfied with the answer. Kagome grinned at Akito, and the kid reciprocated the gesture.

 

Being around Sesshomaru would be strange for a while but she could get used to Akito. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of a retcon in this one for anyone paying attention lmao


	5. Treacherous Path

Kagome struggled to keep balance as they exited the grocery store, huge bag in hand.

She had offered to help Sesshomaru carry their load and after raising his eyebrow at her the youkai had simply told her to “Go ahead.”. 

The reasoning for his incredulous look slowly began to dawn on her as she watched him carry the three remaining bags in one hand while carrying the tired out Akito in the other. 

The boy was proudly holding onto a single packet of noodles, wanting to help as well. 

 

“Sooo-” Kagome begun after a long stretch of walking in silence, “How exactly do you pay for your spaghetti addiction?” 

 

She assumed it wasn't stolen money. For one, she watched him pay with a credit card - PIN apparently ingrained in his muscle memory - secondly, he didn't seem like the type to steal. At least not like this. 

Kagome almost missed his answer, remembering the him from 500 years ago, who took a particularly interest in one of Inuyasha’s possessions. 

 

Sesshomaru seemed to contemplate for a moment, before settling for a dismissive shrug, 

“Money isn't an issue.” 

 

They kept walking like this for what felt like an eternity to Kagome's limbs. Sesshomaru kept shifting Akito around until his head rested comfortably on the older man’s shoulder.

 

“Where exactly are we going?”, She huffed, impatiently. Kagome felt as though they were just taking their groceries on a casual hike at this point.

 

“Home.”

 

Akito was mumbling out her answer. How such an energetic child could be this quickly exhausted was beyond her. He seemed just a little too old to still require naps like this but who was she to judge. 

Sesshomaru must've agreed with her quiet contemplation as he jostled the kid for the third time in the past 10 minutes. 

He was dragging his right leg behind, assumedly because he didn't have his kane to lean on. Speaking of which, Kagome realized he didn't seem to have it with him at all anymore.  _ Perhaps he forgot it back at the store? _

 

The continued to walk in relatively comfortable silence for a while and Kagome was reminded of the time she was alone with him in their last fight against Naraku, when suddenly he stopped in his tracks and set down the bags and Akito, who wobbled around a little before taking of along the path still ahead of them. 

 

They were near the top of the steep, overgrown hill they've been climbing for a while. 

Thinking that maybe his bones just weren't what they used to be and he simply needed a break, Kagome set her bag down, too. She stretched, before looking around for Akito who appeared to have vanished into thin air.

Her eyes widened before turning to address the youkai, eyebrows knit together in worry, 

“Where- He was just there-”, the words seemed to just bubble out of her with little control. 

 

In turn, Sesshomaru just made a noise at the back of his throat as if realizing something. He carefully gripped Kagome's hand, before pulling her along with him in the direction Akito had run to. 

 

“Look closely.”, This time he turned his head towards her, his own, milky eyes focused on nothing. 

 

Kagome watched as he laid his hand onto some invisible wall. She blinked once, twice and suddenly it didn't seem all that invisible anymore. 

Suddenly, they stood before a small set of stairs leading up to an old castle. Sesshomaru's hand rested on a tall pillar to his left, his head still turned to her as his eyebrows raised expectantly; as if he waited for her to applaud him for building all that in the millisecond she had her eyes closed. 

 

“Uhhhh-”, she replied, eloquently, her eyes trying to take in the image unfolding before her.

 

Before long she spotted whom she assumed to be Akito surrounded by a horde of children of different ages. Akito looked different now. Kagome immediately spotted a tail and what appeared to be horns. The children he was addressing all had their own strangeness about them, some had features akin to animals like bat ears or tails, some were strangely coloured with scaly skin - other’s didn't look human at all. 

 

The gears turning in Kagome's head must've been close to audible as she put one and one together, she whispered,

 

“ _ Hanyou _ ?”

 

The children turned to them almost simultaneously as Sesshomaru took another step forward; many of the younger ones barreling towards him, delighted shouts ringing through the hall along with their combined steps. 

Kagome was pushed aside as they surrounded the older man, Sesshomaru not reacting in any way to the children tugging at him, the tallest of them barely reaching his waist. Soon some of the older children came over too, bowing their heads respectfully as they walked past Sesshomaru to get the groceries they had left behind. 

 

They didn't seem to even notice the human girl,who was gawking at the scene unfolding before her.  _ Does he take care of all of them? _

The more incredulous thought, that they could actually all  _ be  _ his children entered her mind only to be dismissed swiftly. 

 

On their way back to the entrance one of the children bumped into Kagome and quite apparently noticed her for the first time. 

“You’re… human.” 

 

The realisation must've hit the teen only after they had made that obvious statement. Taking a step back reflexively, wide eyes staring holes into Kagome’s face. 

 

“Yeah?”, She replied hesitantly.

 

“She’s a human.”

 

Their voice was louder now, catching the attention of the other children still circling Sesshomaru. It wasn't long until all Kagome could pick up were shouts and mutters about humans this, humans that, while dozens of eyes locked onto her. 

She shifted uncomfortably for a second before making out some shouts from the older children “She shouldn't be here!” or “Who brought her here!”. 

Soon other’s chimed in, excited children quick to turn into a mob moving towards her, some confused voices raising against the youkai in her company instead. 

 

Kagome looked over to him for support but he had his attention fixed on the teens berating him, mood seemingly growing increasingly sour until he finally snapped, swiftly striding over to where Kagome stood frozen and picking her. She got a good look at his face, before being shoved unceremoniously into the first chamber they reached. 

She could still easily make out the ruckus on the other side of the door that was shut tightly behind her until one loud and powerful word brought it all to an end.

 

“ **Silence.”**

 

Kagome was close to being considered a fully grown adult but even she cowered from the fatherly wrath Sesshomaru was emitting. And for the first time she was really, truly scared of  _ this _ Sesshomaru. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a little sketch of Akito on my blog if anyone's interested


	6. Paths Well Traveled

Kagome could vaguely make out Sesshomaru’s voice, saying that he had brought her, that it was fine; his voice was much quieter if still rough now.

 

Whilst Sesshomaru was busy lecturing the children about proper etiquette and whatnot,she decided to let her own etiquette slide in favour of exploring the room she had been so unceremoniously thrown into.

It was averagely sized, from what could be expected of a building this size and very sparsely decorated. The walls and floor were mostly empty save for a run down futon sprawled out underneath a shelf. 

Said shelf seemed to serve the purpose of making up for the lack of decoration, by having as many trinkets as physically possible stacked onto it. 

Immediately, Kagome spotted  _ Tenseiga _ which clued her in as to whose room she was standing in exactly. Carefully, she navigated over to the mat to more closely inspect the objects piled onto one another. 

 

With one foot she tried to make space to stand on the futon, shoving at a lump of blankets lying on the edge of it. 

Quietly, Kagome heard the lump grunt in response, making her retract her limbs reflexively. 

Carefully, she crouched down and pulled at the cloth covering whatever was hiding in the bed. Looking at it this closely, it soon became apparent just how old the thing must be. There was a clear dent from the youkai’s apparent, preferred resting position. It was so overused, he might as well be sleeping on the floor at this point. The lump didn't seem to mind however, curling in on itself at Kagome's advances growing even smaller as it lay in the Sesshomaru-shaped cove. 

Whatever or whoever it was, was determined to sleep so the miko decided to simply ask Sesshomaru about instead. 

 

Stretching her legs out once again she finally moved on to explore the shelf. 

Most prominently were the multitude of dried old flowers scattered around. Some of them looked like they’d been dried in a book, other’s simply dried out and crumbled from the wear of time. Other than flowers, there were some simple trinkets - crude origami figures, keychains et cetera. Kagome wondered if those were given to him by those children, though, she decided, ultimately it doesn't really matter.

 

Much more interesting was a series of photographs Kagome found almost buried by the pile. Finding it odd, that a blind man would have any photographs among sentimental trinkets she decided to inspect it and sure enough it was an old picture of Sesshomaru. 

Next to him was a rather big man. He wasn't as tall as Sesshomaru, standing up to just above his shoulder, but he did take up a lot of room, with wide shoulders and a large built. He was grinning brightly, one arm around Sesshomaru's waist. 

Both of them looked mostly human in this picture, save for the crescent moon on Sesshomaru's forehead. 

The image was old and worn - Sesshomaru however looked a lot younger. 

Not as young as the Sesshomaru she knew - who seemed incredibly young by comparison now - but younger than the Sesshomaru she knows now. He couldn't have been much older than forty. She knew he wasn’t; knew that he was much, much older - but he didn't look the part. 

 

He looked so happy here, both of them did - but Sesshomaru was more striking to her with how genuinely happy he seemed for just this photo. She had seen the older Sesshomaru smile, but it never felt this genuine. Not to speak of the Sesshomaru she knew. That guy made a point of how unhappy and angry he was on a regular basis. 

 

She inspected the photo some more, until Sesshomaru came barging in. Kagome hadn't expected him to knock on his own room’s door but he could've been a little calmer about it.  

 

She quickly threw the picture back onto the shelf like a teenager being caught looking up naughty things on the web. She did feel like she got some quality insight into Sesshomaru that she shouldn't have gotten. After a long stretch of silence, she turned to look at the youkai, who was just turned to her general direction, eyebrow raised.

 

“You are done?” 

 

“Yeah, you?”, she replied as though she hadn't crossed several personal boundaries within the first 20 minutes of her visit.

He didn't speak for another moment and she felt the silence crushing her. Before long, though, Sesshomaru walked over the the doors on his left. 

Kagome was blinded briefly by the bright light streaming into the previously dark room, washing over her. 

 

It was a particularly mild day of the otherwise harsh autumn. Eager to relish in the warmth while it would last, she followed him outside. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> check out my illustration of old man sessh if you want: 
> 
> dheerse.tumblr.com


End file.
